Zed Shaw Presentation at OpenDNS

Posted by Josh on June 04, 2014

Last night I went to Python night at OpenDNS where Zed Shaw was speaking about learning Python. Here are some notes from the presentation:

If you're a complete beginner with programming start with Python 2 and go through Learn Python the Hard Way. After that get Learning Python by Mark Lutz. After those two books pick another book on a Python topic. Some examples mentioned were:

Python for Data Analysis

The Flask Book

Programming the Raspberry Pi: Getting Started with Python

Two Scoops of Django

The Algorithm Design Manual by Steven Skiena ("The best algorithms book I've found.") Implement the algorithms in Python.

Violent Python

Then make a clone of something you like. Examples: Amazon, Twitter, Tinder, or whatever.

For people who already know another language, he recommended skipping Learn Python the Hard Way and going straight to Learning Python by Mark Lutz or the Python tutorial.